Your Gateway to Acoustic Playing: The Ibanez PF28ECE Guitar

If you want to give electric-acoustic guitars a serious try, the Ibanez PF28ECE is a great gateway. Topped with maple, the mahogany sides and back resonate a nice lingering dreadnought tone while your fingers easily navigate 20 frets over a comfortable resounding mahogany neck. Your playing is projected with a Fishman Sonicore pickup and an Ibanez SST Shape Shifter preamp that also includes an onboard tuner to keep your playing in tune. See what the arena of acoustic-electric guitars can add to your sonic signature by breaking in with the Ibanez PF28ECE.

Premium Tonewoods to Resonate Your Sound

Your PF28ECE will give you a warm dreadnought sound with its maple-topped body and mahogany sides and back. Nothing really matters more about a guitar's particular tone than the wood of the body, and your PF28ECE will resonate a warm dreadnought sound as you play away. Many acoustic-electric guitars tend to have a tinny, mid/high frequency sound that lacks the warm, dark color that mahogany bodies tend to provide. Give this guitar a strum, and hear the appeal in a nice resonating body.

20 Frets Over a Sturdy Mahogany Neck

The sound of your playing will transfer over seamlessly as your fingers travel your PF28ECE's 20-fretted mahogany neck. You'll feel the sturdiness and hear the resonance and darker sound ease its way around the attractive water decal rosette soundhole. Your fingers will take advantage of the comfortable action akin to so many of Ibanez's famous neck construction. You'll be likely to dive deeper into the world of acoustic-electrics once you try this alluring axe out.

Simple, Effective On-Board Electronics

One great feature of your PF28ECE is seamless switching between electric and acoustic settings. Your playing is captured through a Fishman Sonicore pickup and projected through an Ibanez SST Shape Shifter preamp. The electronic controls on the body's side include a master volume, a phase button, three-band EQ faders, and a shape fader. You also have a AA battery powered tuner to help keep you in tune during a set or recording session. Your signal leaves your guitar via a balanced XLR or 1/4" output.

Ibanez Non-New Product Warranty Information
Ibanez Electric Guitars and Basses have a 1-year warranty on NEW instruments only for the ORIGINAL purchaser with a Sales Receipt. All used products are not under warranty.

If you have additional warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer at 800-669-8262

Ibanez PF28ECE Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Rich in variety, Ibanez's surprisingly affordable PF28ECE Performance acoustic guitar boast features seen on guitars costing two or three times more. Flamed Maple tops, Spruce tops, dreadnought and grand concert bodies, straight acoustic or acoustic/electrics featuring Fishman Sonicore pickups and Ibanez preamps. This longtime member of Ibanez family has been a friend to the budget minded player since the 1980s.

In addition to the 1/4 inch output jack, a balanced XLR jack is included for direct connection to a PA system. Runs on common, easily obtained, AA batteries.

zZounds Expert Review

When I plugged in the Ibanez PF28ECE, I was surprised by how loud this guitar was able to get with just some slight strumming. Whether you are playing unplugged, or plugged into a PA system, you'll be able to acheive great cleans on this guitar. For me, the PF28ECE stood out when I was fingerpicking -- it was able to produce clean and clear notes and not sound muddy as other guitars might. The EQ on this guitar really helps define the type of plugged-in tone you are trying to go for. The Ibanez PF28ECE definitely stuck out to me as the acoustic-electric you reach for when you're around the house, and you have that musical idea come to you, and you need something to record it with pronto. For someone not looking to break the bank when looking for your first acoustic-electric guitar, this Ibanez is definitely one to go for.

This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
"Worth Every Penny!"

Sound:
The sound you get from this guitar is unlike anything else for this price. The electric feature sounds beautiful, whether you use the standard jack or the XLR jack. This guitar sounds like it is worth $500.
Feature:
The adjustable EQ sliders are a great feature that allow you to control the sound when it's connected to an amplifier. The tuner is also a great feature, but I personally think that it can be a little bit tricky when you have to increase the pitch up to the desired note. But once you get a feel for it, the tuner doesn't bother you.
Ease of Use:
Everything is simple and easy to use. The guitar is very straightforward.
Quality:
The quality of this guitar is absolutely amazing, especially the finish. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is because the red color is a bit darker than the pictures in the advertisement. I've had this guitar for a year or two and everything still works perfectly.
Value:
The value of this guitar surpasses any other guitar. Seriously, look no further than this guitar for value.
Manufacturer Support:
I have not dealt with Ibanez's support because I didn't need to. This guitar works perfectly fine, and I'm sure that their support team is as good as their products.
The Wow Factor:
This guitar is very appealing to look at, and I feel that it alone draws more attention than other guitars. You wouldn't want to be the average Joe playing a boring natural-finish guitar. This guitar has a smooth and beautiful finish, and it looks better than a lot of other acoustic guitars.
Overall:
This is the best deal you can get on an acoustic-electric. Don't go to any other brand because you will either pay too much or not get your money's worth. I bought this guitar online without trying it out. Yes, there was a risk involved with that but there was a return policy. I honestly bought this guitar because of how beautiful it looks.

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"A LOT of guitar for a rather small price!"

Overall:
As usual, Ibanez continues to please this buyer! I've tried a number of other brands over the years and keep coming back to Ibanez as I feel they give the most "bang for the buck", and the PF28ECE is no exception. Upon removal from the shipping carton the first thing that struck me was the instrument's overall beauty! It looked really nice in the online pics, but they just don't do justice to the fit and finish of what came out of the box. I'd put this thing up against guitars from other makes costing twice as much any day of the week! The woods used are stunning, the finish is stunning, and the overall workmanship leaves nothing to be desired for anything less than a perfectionist professional musician. One area that always seems to be overlooked on less expensive guitars is the finish on the ends of the frets along the edge of the neck. At least on my sample, they are all smooth with no need of additional work. Now to what really matters... playability and sound. While my guitar-playing skills are not great by any means, I find the PF28ECE as easy to play as any other acoustic guitar I've ever owned and/or played. Fellow band members at church who have played it agree that it plays at least as well as their Taylors, Yamahas and Breedloves which cost a whole lot more! While certainly not equaling the sound of a high-end Martin, Takamine, Gibson or similar, this thing sounds WAY better than any other sub-$500 acoustic that I've had the chance to try out, and it easily equals a few that were pushing the $1,000 mark, both unplugged and plugged! If it sounds like I'm gushing with enthusiasm over this guitar it's probably because I am! I've owned quite a few guitars in my 50+ years on this planet, and I've spent way more money to buy one that I did on this one, but I can't remember one I've ever been quite so pleased with overall! Cons: If I really have to say something negative about this guitar, it would have to be about the choice to use two AA batteries for the on-board electronics. While they are cheaper and are normally readily available, they are a departure from what is considered "normal" for guitars and therefore may not catch someone off guard at a gig if they're not aware of this difference and don't go prepared! Related to the AA batteries, I pulled the battery tray out a bit too far the first time and almost didn't get it to go back into the instrument, so pull it out gently until it stops and no further!
Please note that there has been no need of Manufacturer Support required on this instrument, but it is a required rating on this website, so I must enter something to continue. Since Ibanez products have been so good to me so far, I'm going to give them a 5 in support also! :-)

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A temporary customer reference number is assigned to each customer only while they are shopping on zZounds.com. If you call our customer service department for assistance, this number makes it easier for us to answer any questions you have about products, services or purchases.

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